A MORE DE-MONETIZED SOCIETY IN THE VILLAGE TOWN

De-monitizing life in the Village

 

Monetized Water - - - De-monetized Water

In his book on Politics, Aristotle wrote: “When the inhabitants of one country became more dependent on those of another, and they imported what they needed, and exported what they had too much of, money necessarily came into use. For the various necessities of life are not easily carried about, and hence men agreed to employ in their dealings with each other something that was intrinsically useful and easily applicable to the purposes of life, for example, iron, silver and the like. Of this the value was at first measured simply by size and weight, but in process of time they put a stamp upon it, to save the trouble of weighing and to mark the value.” In other words, initially, money came into use because it was easier than barter.

However, our best and brightest go to business schools where they are taught to think laterally, to identify anything and everything that can be monetized: claim it, price it, own it and sell it to get more money. It's not a conspiracy but a belief system. Money becomes the measure of life. The problem with this belief system is in its excesses - it goes too far and creates new problems.

At one time, eldership was a part of life. Grown children and the community looked after their old people. Today, we rely on national and private pensions, national and supplimentary medical and pharmaceutical insurance and purpose-built retirement homes to take care of them. That works as long as there are enough younger people to pay for that care, but such systems are failing. For the next generation of elders, they need to significantly de-monetize elder care. The VillageTown proposes to do that. This may become especially important as aging populations around the world grow. The response from many governments is to conduct studies, but not to adopt policies, because they think of policies in terms of monetized solutions.

At one time, most day-to-day life was local. People walked to the shops, the job, to schools and recreation. As a result, the cost of roads was affordable. Starting in the 1950's, the US and then the world embarked on the largest public works project in history, building the roads and bridges so people would get around by car.

That infrastructure is now breaking down, and the funds required to keep it operational are insufficient. Day-to-day transport needs to be de-monetized. The VillageTown proposes to do that. Of course the VillageTown will continue to depend on the road system for access to the wider world, and will pay taxes accordingly. But on a local basis, it will de-monetize transport and give people exercise as a free bonus.

At one time, children were raised in families. Until they were school-aged, they lived at home, and if their parents worked, they went along. In the 1960's we saw the job market open up, so that women could hold more jobs than that of teacher, secretary, nurse or librarian. For a brief while families with two wage earners got ahead, but when it became the norm, the market adjusted so that it became necessary for both to work.

This resulted in the monetizing of child care, where today one is seeing the first generation of children who have been raised from infants in paid day-care. In the VillageTown, opportunity to de-monetize child care becomes available. The parents will work in the village. Parents can share childcare. Elders are available to help. The village can build a children's house on the plaza, where the facility adds a few dollars to the monthly mortgage of each home, and it is not staffed by paid workers, but supervised by villagers.

The Villagetown de-monetizes energy consumption through better insulation. It de-monetizes local communication through proximity. It lowers the monetization of food through eliminating the middleman. It reduces the cost of building maintenance by selecting durable materials. Removing the need for cars lowers the cost of getting around. By creating a community that has a low tolerance for crime (and having thousands of citizens keeping out a watchful eye), the cost of law enforcement and all the ancilliary costs of crime are substantially de-monetized. By taking a completely different approach to welfare, where the VillageTown actively uses its funds to keep all who want to work in gainful employment, it de-monetizes much of the business of social services. In all these, and many more way, the VillageTown de-monestizes day-to-day life.

It's cheaper to save a dollar than earn one.  A Village Town in Eastern Missouri is a place to begin.  Let me know if you are ready.